Funding Opportunities

Current Opportunities:

The CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance (CUNY ISLG), in partnership with the NYC Campaign Finance Board (CFB), seeks proposals from community-based organizations (CBOs) to serve as host sites for the inaugural class of Civic Engagement Fellows. Civic Engagement Fellows are CUNY students entering their senior year in fall of 2025. CBOs selected through this solicitation will act as host sites for the Fellows – they will mentor and supervise Fellows, and work with them to build new and/or enhance existing civic engagement activities in their local communities. 

As a host organization, selected CBOs will host their Fellow full-time during Summer 2025, part-time during the 2025-2026 school year, and full-time for one year following 2026 Fellow graduation from their CUNY program.  

CBOs selected for this Initiative may be granted an award of up to $56,000 per Fellow per year, over a two-year-period, for a total amount up to $112,000 per Fellow. This does not include compensation for the Fellows, which will be funded directly by CFB and RF/CUNY ISLG. This funding can be used for general operating support, personnel services to provide mentorship and supervision to Fellows, OTPS items in support of civic engagement activities (e.g. renting meetings space, designing and printing information fliers, etc.), and other costs for the organization.  

ELIGIBILITY 

CBOs applying for this Initiative must serve communities in Bronx Community Districts 1 through 7 (or have a clear and feasible plan to serve those communities). The following are eligible to apply for funding through this grant opportunity: 

• Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (e.g., community organizations, faith-based organizations, schools, etc.).  

• Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status are required to have a fiscal sponsor in place, and the fiscal sponsor should serve as the applicant. 

Small and grassroots organizations are encouraged to apply. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) led organizations, multi-lingual agencies, and organizations led and/or staffed by people directly impacted by the criminal legal system are also encouraged to apply. 

DOCUMENTS 

• Invitation for Proposals 

• Budget Template 

DEADLINES 

The solicitation was released on May 12, 2025. 

Proposals are due by 11:59 PM on June 13, 2025 and should be submitted to info@islg.cuny.edu. 

The deadline to submit questions about the solicitation is 11:59 PM on May 28, 2025. Responses to the questions will be posted on this page on or about June 4, 2025.  

The anticipated contract start date is July 2025. 

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND 

ABOUT CUNY ISLG 

CUNY ISLG holds and manages the contracts of the grantees. This includes managing the solicitation and contracting process and providing guidance to and oversight of award recipients. ISLG also offers capacity building support to grantees. Funds are awarded through the Research Foundation of the City University of New York (Research Foundation). CUNY ISLG is a good governance think-and-do tank dedicated to improving government effectiveness and efficiency. Established in 2013, CUNY ISLG works with state and local governments, higher education, public institutions and CBOs across 60+ jurisdictions in the U.S. Relevant to this opportunity, CUNY ISLG’s work includes designing and implementing Fellowship programs for elected officials and legislative Chiefs of Staff, in addition to creating learning spaces for CUNY students and offering training and technical assistance (TTA) and grantee management services to CBOs. 

ABOUT CFB 

The Campaign Finance Board (CFB) is a nonpartisan, independent city agency that empowers New Yorkers to make a greater impact on their elections. CFB’s mission is to make New York City (NYC) democracy more open, transparent and equitable, by reducing barriers to participation, providing access to the information and resources New Yorkers need to vote or run for office, and amplifying the power of small-dollar contributions to reduce the influence of money in politics. CFB has a specific City Charter mandate to increase voter participation among underrepresented communities. That work includes direct outreach and engagement activities aimed at educating voters in priority neighborhoods, the matching funds program, and supporting community and civic engagement.

Past Opportunities

Thank you for your interest in this program. The application period for this grant has concluded.
We will release an update once it becomes available.

The CUNY Institute of State and Local Governance (ISLG), in partnership with Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity (NYC Opportunity), seeks proposals from grassroots leaders and organizations to incubate an approach to address a policy gap/challenge facing NYC communities. This incubation process will invest in local leaders and/or small grassroots and community-led organizations that have established relationships, trust, and legitimacy and have first-hand knowledge of the community in need. See the press release for more information.

The goal of this solicitation is to create an incubation process that harnesses the expertise of grassroots leaders, taps into their knowledge of community strengths and challenges, and provide the partnerships and other resources to find the solutions. 

NYC Opportunity and ISLG anticipate funding up to $40,000 per applicant, for up to three applicants total. The grant offers funding for participation in a six-month incubation process, during which the applicant will partner with CUNY ISLG to identify and analyze the reasons why the challenge exists and develop an approach or recommendations to address it. The process may involve community-based conversations, meeting with experts in relevant policy fields, and monthly meetings with a learning community of grantees. The outcome of the incubation is to create a deliverable (e.g., curriculum, training, policy recommendations, etc.). 

Eligibility 

The following are eligible to apply for funding through this grant opportunity: 

• Non-profits (e.g., community organizations, faith-based organizations). Nonprofits without 501c3 status are required to have a fiscal sponsor in place, and the fiscal sponsor should serve as the applicant. 

• Individuals. Individuals will need to be incorporated, such as through an LLC.  

• Annual average organizational or LLC budget of less than $500k over the past three years.

Documents 

• Invitation for Proposals 

• Budget Template 

• Appendix C - General Contract Terms 

• Questions & Answers (Released September 16, 2024)

Deadlines 

The solicitation was released on August 22, 2024.

Proposals are due October 3, 2024 at 11:59 pm EST and can be submitted here. 

• The deadline to submit questions about the solicitation was September 5, 2024, at 11:59 pm EST. The Questions & Answers document was posted on September 16, 2024. It is the responsibility of the applicant to remain up-to-date regarding all addenda issued for the current solicitation.  

The anticipated contract start date is for Winter 2024/25.

Additional Background 

ABOUT CUNY ISLG 

CUNY ISLG holds and manages the contracts of the grantees. This includes managing the solicitation and contracting process and providing guidance to and oversight of award recipients. ISLG also offers capacity building support to grantees. Funds are awarded through the Research Foundation of the City University of New York (Research Foundation). 

ABOUT NYC OPPORTUNITY 

The Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity (NYC Opportunity) is the funder and partner of this initiative. NYC Opportunity helps the City apply evidence and innovation to reduce poverty and increase equity. NYC Opportunity works to improve the systems of government by advancing the use of research, data and design in program and policy development, service delivery, and budget decisions. NYC Opportunity works collaboratively with City agencies to design, test and oversee new programs and digital products, and produces research and analysis of poverty and social conditions, including annual Poverty Measure, which provides a comprehensive picture of poverty in New York City. 

Thank you for your interest in this program. The application period for this grant has concluded.
See the press release for the selected recipients.

CUNY ISLG, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ), is seeking proposals to implement the Community-Based Restorative Justice Grant Program in New York City.  This solicitation offers funding to incorporate or expand restorative practices and approaches in New York City, focusing investments on small and grassroots organizations that have historically faced barriers to accessing public funding.

MOCJ and ISLG anticipate funding approximately 15 proposals total, up to $300,000 per award, across three categories of programming.

The three categories of programming are:

1. Category One: Design and implement community-based restorative justice programming that is culturally responsive in one or multiple settings/populations. 

2. Category Two: Offer training and technical assistance on restorative justice principles and practices to organizations/individuals for the purpose of designing and/or implementing restorative justice activities in the community.

3. Category Three: Design and implement a restorative justice paid fellowship for individuals interested in doing restorative justice work within their communities.

Documents

• Updated Solicitation as of 11/29/2023 (see the original version here)

• Questions & Answers, posted 11/29/2023

• Glossary of Terms

• Updated Budget Template as of 11/29/2023 (see the original version here)

• Sample Appendix C - General Contract Terms

• Community Restorative Justice Investment Report and Recommendations

Deadlines & important dates

Proposals for this RFP were due by Friday, December 22nd, at 11:59 p.m. EST.

The deadline to request the support of consultants available to assist with compiling and completing the application, November 28th, 2023, has passed.

The deadline to submit questions about this solicitation was November 22nd, 2023. See Questions & Answers for that information.

Answers to all questions will be available as an addendum to this solicitation posted on the CUNY ISLG website. It will be the responsibility of proposers to remain up-to-date regarding all addenda issued for the current solicitation.

Anticipated Public Award Announcement: May 2024

Anticipated Contract Dates: April 2024 – June 2025

Additional Background

Following the City of New York’s announcement of its plan to close the jails on Rikers Island, the City worked with the City Council to engage community stakeholders on the plan and to solicit ideas for investments in community safety. In October 2019, this process resulted in several Points of Agreement (POA). The POA guided the City to fund several initiatives to enhance community safety and re-envision justice. One of those initiatives was to increase funding for community-based restorative justice programming for programs that are both affiliated with the criminal justice system and those that operate independently in the community. 

To prepare for this investment, the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) and the Restorative Justice Initiative (RJI) convened a 22-person Advisory Committee, most engaged in restorative practice or brought other expertise in funding, grantmaking, and program design. The Advisory Committee recommended focusing investments on small and grassroots organizations that have historically faced barriers to access to public funding. 

MOCJ is engaging the CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance to serve as the management entity for this solicitation and to oversee and support grantees selected for this program.